I wanted to try my hand at tying up some scuds, and picked up some scud back material the other day. Sat down at the vise this morning and simply put, this stuff fell apart. Have any of y'all experienced this?

As soon as I pulled it out of the package, and checked to see if it was stretchy, it broke. I figured I pulled on it too hard and proceeded to tie some on the hook...but even a loose thread wrap for placement sliced right through it like butter. Finally, after about 5 failed attempts, I got one piece to tie down without breaking...dubbed the hook shank, and as soon as I folded the scud back over the dubbing, it just came apart.

Sounds like you got a bad batch. You might consider using sandwich or some other type of plastic bag. Just cut the strips to width. I've never bought the material you refer to--I've always used clear plastic that is easy to find around the house.

I never have liked scud back. It slips out no matter how tight your wraps are, and it tears too easy. I have used thin skin, and it works pretty good. Plastic bags work well too if it is a freezer bag, regularly sandwich bags stretch too easy.

I do have one thing that I'm betting you haven't heard of though. I don't even know what to call it. It comes off of my wife's shirts or blouses. It is the thing that I guess you are supposed to hang women's clothes up on. She buys a new top and cuts these things out immediatly. It isn't real good for a scud smaller than a 14. But it's real good for a crawfish or shrimp carapace, and large scuds. I even use it for wingcases on nymphs. This stuff is a lot stronger than scud back, and sometimes it comes in different colors, depending on what shirt she buys!

Ah, yes...I know exactly what you're referring to....I can see how that would work well for the larger flies. I tried the plastic bag idea, and it worked pretty well...I just have trouble cutting small strips at a consistant width.

I always had a hard time with getting a constant width of ziploc strips too, until I picked up the trick of using a straight edge and a circular cutter. You can get the cutter at walmart or any craft store for about $10. You'll get even strips of any width you want.

My favorite scud back material is an old Orvis product called "Shimmer Skin." Not sure they still sell it, but I have great luck with it. It has a mottled texture and iridescence not found in other scud back material.

Mickfly
Fish Friendly - Life's too short not to enjoy every minute on the river.

I don't think the material matters (and, a fortiori, the color) because most scud patterns, especially if they are tied with any weight, will ride upside down. The back material isn't intended to imitate the bug, but to make the back streamlined in order to facilitate quick sinking.

I read an article recently about how there is a war with tiers as to whether scud imitations should even be curved in the first place.
The more time I spend at this I begin to think that the patterns are so vast to attract people rather than fish...